Savanna’s & Centre Pizza

In an effort to bypass the sceney Hamptons restaurants and try something more low key, preferably with better service and food, a friend of mine suggested Savanna’s in Southampton.

The less sceney part she was accurate about (amongst our age group), however, she was far off on the better food part.

We had initially wanted to sit outdoors (in the back patio area), but ended up sitting inside due to a private event taking place.

All of appetizers were gluten-free, expect the crab cakes and clams. The menu online is a bit outdated (apparently they are under new management?).

We shared:

Garlic Roasted Eggplant w/ Feta (gluten-free): They should have really emphasized the garlic in the name because this thing was loaded with it. Luckily I wasn’t on a date. Not impressed whatsoever. And for $16, I’d rather have another dirty martini than eat this.

Tuna Tartare w/ Avocado Mayonnaise & Cucumber Salad (gluten-free): I was thrilled to hear that they made their tuna tartare sans soy sauce, however not so thrilled when I tasted it. There’s a reason this is made with soy sauce – it gives it flavor. This was the blandest tuna tartare I have ever eaten. I mean at least season the avocado with salt & lime juice – something.

Some entrees around the table included:

Vegetarian Pasta

Lamb Chops (gluten-free)

Prawns (with head on) w/ seared quinoa & guacamole sauce (gluten-free): This has got to be the biggest joke of a dish for the night. They actually went out of their way to write “with head on” on the menu and yet delivered the opposite. My interpretation of the dish? Shrimp with store bought guac paste and a ball of quinoa on the side. Quite a disappointment.

The Chilean Sea Bass I was going to originally order was not gluten-free, so I went with:

Yellowfin Tuna w/ Tomato Confit & sauteed spinach (gluten-free): Ok first of all – look at the presenation. I know it’s not everything, but people eat with their eyes first and this was a not a pretty looking tuna. I ordered it rare (lightly seared on outside) and that is what I got. I mean what was going on with the outside of the tuna? Just a huge mess. The spinach was good though.

One of our other diners ordered chicken on the bone which was practically rare in the inside! It was sent back. When we voiced our concerns over the shrimp, they ended up taking it, along with the chicken off the bill.

In true foodie spirit, we decided to end the weekend with some delicious, reliable grub at Centre Pizza in Little Neck NY (long island for those of you not in the tri-state area). Not only is it consistent, good food, it is a perfect break from the not good, consistent I-495 (LIE) traffic headed back into the city from out East.

Oh, and they have gluten-free pizza and pasta! Pro tip: If you are in a rush to get back to NYC and want to “grab a quick slice” order the gluten-free pizza when you are passing the Syosset exit – or you’ll be left waiting a good ten minutes while your friends down their slices.

In addition to a chopped salad, I got their gluten-free pie:

To make this short – gluten-free pies typically resemble a crunchy, cracker-like crust with cheese & sauce piled on top. The consistency of the bread doesn’t allow the sauce/cheese to really melt in, so it separates easily. The separation factor on this pie was in the middle – it was still good though and worth eating.